//------------------------------// // Chapter 15: Oh! A rock! (Mines part 1) // Story: Strength of a Brother's Bond // by Trexorb //------------------------------// Chapter 15 Warning: Some disturbing imagery in the following chapter, hopefully I won’t have to make it mature, but we’ll see. Enjoy! “What the hell did I get myself into...” I said as I stared at the towering mountain. Staring at the rock and just saying it was another mountain would be an insult to it. Gems, crystals, all kinds of minerals were what made this pile of rock unique. Seeing it, it was no wonder why this was the village’s mining base. So close to the village and so rich with all kinds of gems, it was a true gift to the rising village. But now it was more of a taunting tease then a true gift. The mines, still full of minerals and crystals, are now blocked by one single colt, who seems to just kill any and all who step foot inside ‘his home’. The question was: Why? “Why are we wasting our time here and not finishing up that wall?” My player wondered as he was sitting on top of my shield head, bored beyond his mind. “Because, Angel asked us to put a stop to this ‘Bloodlust Colt’. I calmly answered, doing my best to ignore Ava’s movements on my skull. “Right.... and why are WE going into the mines? Last time I checked, we wanted to just finish the wall and get out. Not do more random quests that we find along the way!” He shouted, raising his hands up as he spoke. It was obvious he didn’t like any change in plans. I guess it only delayed us from actually doing what he wanted for the chess game. “Well, Angel said if we did this, she’ll get others to work on that stupid wall rather than us. I’d actually take killing some mad pony over building stuff any days.” I answered honestly, though it did come off as if I was gonna enjoy it. I really need sleep. “Glad to see you’re starting to be ok on killing things then! Don’t want no more stupid sappy crying moments. You know, like back at the woods before the manticore attack. You there with the fire... crying over dogs that attacked you... Remember that stupid moment? Good times... Goooood times.” I muttered a few curses under my breath as I continued walking around the mountain to try and find this entrance to the mines. Freakin bipolar god. Why can’t he just shut the fuck up and help make my life easier. “Wait a minute,” I felt Ava’s body shift above my head, until he was facing me upside down, his fingers holding the side of my head shield for grip, and his fez still defying the laws of physics. “Two things. One,” He pointed with one finger in front of my snout. “what happened with the lightning cloud thing that shocked you when you went out of bounds?” “Angel expanded the area of her magic for me to be able to get into the mines, though there is a time limit to how long I’m away. Weren’t you paying attention?” I asked with an annoyed tone towards the god-in-training. I ask this because he’s in my head and around me all the time! Why is he even asking me this?!? HE SHOULD ALREADY KNOW!! “Uhhhhh... Well to be honest, you mortals get boring SOOOOO quickly, especially when you all think you can explain magic and whatnot. So I usually tune out whatever you and any other ponies say.” He honestly didn’t hear any of the conversation I had with Angel? Well great.... “Anyways, the second thing I have to ask is....who’s building the wall now then if we’re here?” He curiously asked. I couldn’t help but grin as I knew who was building instead of me. “Why... *Pant* are we.... Urggghhh... working on... GAHHHH this wall!?” An ex dragon slayer asked as he heaved his heavy load of bricks to the rest of the group. “We’re paying for our crimes, ok?” Answered an annoyed pegasus, flying over to the brown unicorn to help relieve some of his cargo, grabbing a brick for the top of the construction. “Best to regain their trust rather than gaining more enemies.” “Yah, but.... why aren’t we just running for it?” Mix asked. “Do you really want to end up like Flare over there?” The pegasus plainly said, pointing to a recently shocked unicorn. His fur was charred and smoking, eyes abit white and tongue hanging out the side of his mouth. His hooves were all pointing to the sky, with an occasional twitch now and then. “You doing ok, Flare?” Sparky shouted over his shoulder as he placed down another brick. The only response he got from the singed unicorn was some gurgling noises and something about seeing flashbacks. Sparks shrugged and continued his work, acting as if nothing really different has happened. Mix groaned, his face holding the look of disgust as he took a step back from the electrified pony. His comrade smelt of He would’ve placed a shield spell on all of them, but with the restricting ring around his horn, he was just as helpless as a weak, feeble earth pony. “Still, we never really attacked the village. Yet we’re working on the wall! How did that happen?!” The logical pony outraged, mad that he was doing such unjust work. “I blame the author...” A mumbling pony stated, his back still laying flat on the fried grass. Suddenly, as if the gods have been angered by an unknown force, a storm cloud loomed over the blasphemy speaker, striking him down with thousands of kilowatts, filling the neigh sayer full with electricity. Both other ponies shielded their eyes away from the shock, not wanting to blind themselves from the sheer power of nature. Once the heretic was sured to be silenced , the clouds quickly dissolved away, leaving not even a small trace of evidence of the still all-powerful storm. That’ll teach the little bugger.... Right, where was I... Oh yes! Back to the real story... “Hahahaha! Oh, boy. I bet they’re pissed. Hehehehe!” The chuckling god snickered as he held his stomach. I was walking around the rich mountain, laughing a bit myself at how those damn dragon slayers are now doing my work instead of me. Heh, I guess I’m not the only one getting punished. As both Ava and I settled down from the laughter, we continued trekking around the mountain, while examining the surroundings. From the walk towards the mines itself, I noticed that the mountain seems to be surrounded by natural forest life. The trees themselves were fading in color, turning the leaves into a bright fall. The branches shifted softly with the wind, bringing the rustling sound of leaves with them. It was a nice feeling for once. To just listen to nature while taking a small stroll. It was if this day, I could finally relax from most of the stress. No building anything stupid like a wall. No stinking ponies beating me up. No annoying gods telling me what to do....yet. Still, I’ll take anything I can get to help ease some nerves. Still, I should really start thinking on how I will take care of this ‘killer monster’. I still don’t how to honestly take care of him. Sure, I said I’ll kill him, but that’s just saying it. Can I honestly kill something? Besides, these are just ponies. They could be imagining this whole thing. Though, thinking back, Stone did seem abit shaken up when he was talking with Angel and me about his short experience. A tiny pony child can’t be that bad.... right? “I think I see the entrance up ahead.” Ava suddenly pointed out, distracting me from my thoughts. Looking ahead, I noticed the entrance in the distance as we continued walking. There was a wooden structure outline of the entryway, but boulders and rubble seemed to block the way in. There was a few roses and flowers in front of the mines already, as if to pay tribute to the miners that died. So much for this being all a fake. Upon closer inspection, I noticed that the cave entrance was wide open. Which was weird cause I was told that the main entrance was blocked by stones and boulders. I carefully looked around my surroundings, but couldn’t find any other signs of outside life nearby, meaning.... “Someone else is in there.” “Errr... you mean somepony, right? Cause someone doesn’t really work with a world full of....” I glared at Ava to stop him from explaining any further. “I’m not changing the fucking word just because of some ponies, got it?” I snarled. Ava seemed to understand, though abit ticked that I wouldn’t give in to this. Looking back at the opening, I crossed my arms as I tried to think of the quickest way to finish this assignment. “This should be simple. Find the colt, kill him or capture him, then go back to the village, tell them the news. Afterwards, we can finally go and find Drew. Easy enough.” “Hehe... Sure... and do you have any idea where to start looking for Drew?” ….. Fuck... “I have a plan, don’t worry about it.” I lied. In all honestly.... I have no clue how I’m gonna look for him. I should focus on one problem at a time though. “Well.... Guess we better get going.” I turned to the floating god, grinning like a mad drake. Just the thought of seeing Drew soon made me more enthusiastic about this whole thing. After this task, I’m gonna get my brother back. Ava nodded in enthusiasm, obvious happy that we’re not just laying around doing nothing again. With that confirmation, I went head first into the mines, ready for whatever would lie in store for me. Deep within the dark caverns, the sounds of a lone miner was heard within. Far in one of the tunnels, a small pony was seen chipping away at the sturdy rocks, hoping to gain some small reward for his manual labor. The sound echoed throughout the empty mines, giving the feeling of emptiness to the lone colt. He was used to it, being alone. He only needed one friend, one that helped him throughout his struggles. One that has been with him his whole life. As far as he could remember.... The Colt paused in his menial work. His expression turned south as he tried to think of his past again. He honestly couldn’t remember much other than his friend. Closing his eyes, the colt tried to remember anything about his past. At first, it was mostly darkness. Slowly, though, he faintly saw two figures, both smiling and full of love, looking towards him with such care. Tears slowly fell as he start to recall who those figures were. “....I miss them...” His quiet voice whispered. However, before he could continue going down memory lane, an unsettling voice disrupted his thoughts, giving a massive headache and fear to reside within the child. “MORE! THERE IS MORE!” The Colt screamed as he dropped his pick and clinged to his head. He didn’t want to hear this voice again, but he had no real choice in the matter. After all, it was his only friend speaking to him. “I SENSE IT! NEW PONIES! WE MUST SEE THEM! WE SHOULD GIVE THEM HUGS! AND LOVE! AND MURDER!!!!” The yellow pony screeched and groveled in pain as rolled in the dirt. He tried to gain his thoughts back, but the more he seemed to try and reach for his memories, the more it seemed to fade away. “NO! NOT NOW! WE MUST NOT LET SUCH PETTY THINGS DISTURB OUR GOAL!” After minutes of arguing with the demonic voice, the colt seemed to have ceased his fit and held his eyes closed. He stayed still for a few moments before he started to lift himself up. Slowly standing back on all four of his hooves, the colt sighed a heavy breath. Opening his eyes, his now red pupils stared into the tunnel that led to the main mines. He grinned mischievously as the new host now took over again. Picking up the sturdy pick with his magic, the now darker pony began his search for the trespassers, laughing all the while like a crazed colt. His walk seemed upbeat with each step he took and why wouldn’t it be. After all, he was going to see new friends. “Hehehe... Tick tock, tick tock!! Hehehehe!” I have to say. Walking around in a dark, forsaken cave with a killer hidden inside and commentary from a floating god next to me is something I never really thought would be happening any time in my life. But I guess you play with the cards you’re dealt with, even if they do suck. “I can barely see anything. Where the hell are we going?” I was annoyed, to say the least. Even with my fire hands, they can only do so much to illuminate the area. As far as I could see, it was just more endless walking within this tunnel. The way back was the same too. I sighed heavily as I continued my walk towards the only other direction out of the tunnel. Ava has just been giddy the whole walk, commenting on every little thing he finds. “Oh! Look! it’s a titanium shovel! It looks so new and refined. And made for ponies too! So cute. OH! Look, there’s a stalagmite that’s been growing for over 200 years! Fascinating. OH! AND LOOK! A SHINY ROCK!” Something tells me he’s a fan of the underground....that or he plays minecraft a lot. Not soon after Ava started examining the fine piece of specimen from the mineral family, I spotted a new source of light coming from behind the a turn up ahead. Even though the site set my heart skipping a beat that I would finally stop walking in this god forsaken tunnel, I couldn’t help but feel uneasy as I stepped closer. The light looked dim, if not faded. The air itself was that of an familiar smell. Yet... something I can’t exactly remember clearly. I remember the smell before from somewhere... but where? When I was finally close enough, I turned the corner to look towards the new sight the was shown me. Finally glad to see something..... ….. ….. ….. Oh god..... Everywhere in the cavern, the walls were streaked with the crimson color. Bodies laid mangled in front of me, either decaying or already bone white. The shape of ponies, diamond dogs, heck even griffins were all I could tell from the sight. They’re mouths were wide open in terror, as if they were still screaming for mercy from whoever did this. There was even a pile of bodies all stacked up on top of each other at the center of hell. Limbs were twisting off the dead ponies, cracked bones breaking out of their flesh, all as if they were all just broken toys. All sorts of random mining equipment seemed to used by this colt, ranging from a shovel lodged down a ponies throat to a pickaxe lodged inside a diamond dogs head. The small ray of light from the center of the roof was showing off all the pile of decaying flesh in all its unholy glory. Stacks of bodies piled high towards the crack of light, as if they were all building off each other to escape. Even looking up, there were bodies stuck to the stalactite, their own intestines being used to hang themselves, as if they were being used as puppets. I felt Ava’s presence as he phased through a wall next to me, staring at the bloody massacre that laid before us. I stood still, unable to move from just the sheer shock of it all. So much blood and devastation, from just one colt?! I tried to ask Ava what he thought about all this, but when I tried speaking, I could only feel my lunch coming back up. When I finally gained control of my lunch and was able to hold it back, I asked Ava “What the hell happened?” The god-in-training only looked onwards towards the the desecration, his eye holes examining every bit of the bloody scene. Before I could ask again, he floated ahead of me, entering the mining site. “Hey wait up!” I shouted after him. However, before I could even reach him, I heard a small child’s laughter echoing throughout the whole cavern. My eyes went wide as I realized that the bloodlusted colt was coming closer from one of the other tunnels, his sickening laughter getting closer and closer. I turned to my right and decided to book it to a tunnel. Any tunnel to get me away from the colt for now. I was about to enter one of the tunnels but then, I felt a grip from behind me pulling me back and holding me firm. I was about to shout if it weren’t for my assailant’s appendages covering my snout. All I could really make were some muffling noises and grunts. “If you want to live, I suggest you stay quiet and listen to me carefully.” A voice harshly whispered from behind. I stopped my struggle and nodded in acknowledgement. When the mysterious stranger knew I understood, he removed his paws from my nose. Looking behind me, I turned around to find an odd orange fur diamond dog holding a finger to lips then running into another tunnel that I passed earlier. I looked at Ava and gave him a confused look, hoping he could understand what was going on. Unfortunately, all the god-in-training did was shrug and follow after the fedora wearing diamond dog. I rolled my eyes but followed them as well, wondering why the hell are we following this stranger. We made a turn towards a tunnel and all leaned against the wall. Well, me and the dog did. Ava was just floating around carefree as usual. “What the hell is going on and who the fuck are you?” I snarled at the dog. The dog put his hands on my snout again and clamped it shut to restrict me from talking. He shushed me and leaned back towards the walls further, his body leaning over the edge to look back into the opening. I was about to snarl back at him when I heard the spin tingling laughters of a child. Carefully leaning over the edge with the orange diamond dog, I saw a blood covered colt giggling to himself as he exited out of the tunnel I was about to enter before. “Hehehe... Where are you~?” It teased, it’s red eyes searching around the cavern for anything moving and alive. “I know you’re both here.” Suddenly, it gasped as it realized something. “Are we playing a game? I love games! You both hide while I try to find you! And when I do find you, you can join all my other friends here with me. Oh, this will be so much fun! Isn’t that right, mr. snugglebuns?” Oh god..... that colt is fucked up. The colt seemed to be... playing with one of the dead carcases, prancing around like it was the damn ballroom. His sickening giggle echoed throughout the room as he continued to dance with the upper torso of a pony. He even started singing a song about a gala and the best night ever? I don’t know, I didn’t stick around that long to find out. I felt a tap on my right side as I was staring at the waltzing colt. I turned to see the one-eyed diamond dog point his thumb behind me, emphasizing that he didn’t want to stay long. We both carefully walked away from the singing colt, not wanting to disturb his sickening mind. I can’t face that colt head on. That would be suicide against a monster like that.... I need to rethink this. “Well, that was the scariest thing I ever seen so far.” I panted, holding on to my knees after that sprinting session. It took me a few seconds to gain my breath before I looked over to the orange diamond dog. He was out of breath as well, sitting on a flat piece of rock and leaning back against the wall, his head tilted up as he panted heavily. “Now then,” I finally asked. “Who in god’s name are you?” “I’m Sigma.” The dog breathed, looking at me with his one good eye. “And yourself?” “Komodo.” I simply stated, stretching back to full height. “Right so.... what the hell are you doing in these mines?” “Isn’t it obvious?” he smirked, leaning forward and playing with his paws. “I was here for minerals of course! These were the closest mines at the times, so I just dug my way through the opening. I even got the materials I needed to. They’re all in my bag.” I looked at the diamond dog to see that he only had the red hoodie and his fedora on him. No bag whatsoever. “And where, per say, is the bag?” I asked, raising an eyebrow. “The... erm... colt... has it....” Sigma slowly said, tilting his head down more and staring at his paws nervously. “Really? And how in the hell did he get your bag? You don’t look like of his ‘toys’ so you must’ve-” “I had to take a piss and when I got back, my bag was gone. Only logical thing is that the colt took it.” He quickly stated, blushing slightly beneath his fur. I could only look at him dumbfounded when he explained his reasoning. I felt my eye twitching at how he just easily lost something like that. “Right.... and I’m guessing you’re not going to leave the mines till you get it back?” I said through my facepalm. Sigma nodded enthusiastically. “My, you’re smart for a drake, you know that?” He smirked again. I was about to say something against him when I noticed a shine coming from his pocket. “What’s that in your pocket?” I said as I reached in before he could object. Lifting the shiny metal in front of me, I found... “Oh you have got to be shitting me.” I held in my hands a golden amulet with a green gem at the center. The very same one that Lancelot used in his fight against me. So why the hell does this dog have the amulet in the first place? Is he working with those dragon slayers? “Hey! Give that back! I won that fair and square.....” Sigma shouted. He then thought about it for a minute. “Ok, Well I won it at least.....” I raised an eyebrow at his rephrasal. He looked nervous a bit till he caved. “Fine,I got it off a drunken griffin, but it’s still mine!” Sigma shouted, placing the amulet around his neck. Well at least he isn't work with them.... so he says. Wait a minute.... If he has that amulet, that means he has to know how to use it's magic! And with a magic diamond dog and a fire dragon, we can surely take on that colt! We take care of the colt, he gets his stuff back, and I get to finish my work and go search for Drew. Soon, it was my turn to grin at the diamond dog as he fixed his fedora. He looked at me with an uneasy look which then turned curious. I place my hands on my hips as I chuckled to myself. “Sigma. I have a... proposition for you.” A/N: Hey all! Just wanted to say thanks for sticking with this story for as long as you have! Really makes my day that people actually read this. Anyways, I honestly don’t know when the next part will be, but it is planned out and it will be AWESOME! Well in my head it looks awesome, lets just hope I can make it the same on paper. Now onto writing!